


To Live As If Only Love Matters

by cloudsofsmoke



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Space Royalty, Arranged Marriage, M/M, True Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-01 20:30:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17250923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cloudsofsmoke/pseuds/cloudsofsmoke
Summary: Hope other people in this ship tag love arranged marriage fics as much as I do!___Luke Amidala is a little young to be engaged, but he's ready and willing to be married off for the good of Naboo, for his people and his family. He knows he's going to hate moving to some random city and living with a bunch of strangers, but he's planning to make the best of it. As long as he doesn't let his mother and Leia down, he'll put up with nearly anything, even some spoiled highborn who's inherited everything he has and is.Prince Bodhi Rook, First Son of Jedha, has to be married before any of his younger sisters can get engaged. He's focused on his studies - and as long as he finds someone who will benefit from the match, they might be amenable to leaving him alone most of the time, right? Even if it does mean marrying into a house who elects their royalty, whose leaders are taken from their families as children. And even if this boy in particular turns out to be the son of the most infamous murderer in living memory...





	To Live As If Only Love Matters

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [i guess i'll know when i get there](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8910982) by [Eisoj5](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eisoj5/pseuds/Eisoj5). 



> This is so heavily inspired by Eisoj5’s characterisations and general genius that it might as well be fanfic of her fanfic. If you haven’t read her masterpiece I Guess I’ll Know When I Get There then you have to get over to that page before you start this. Not because you need to read that fic to understand this fic, you don’t at all, but because that is a fantastic tale and you’ll thank me later.

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, there was a moon of exceptional beauty and balance, inhabited by people of every shape, size and colour, from every corner of the galaxy, and that moon was called Jedha. Jedha was incredibly powerful in the Living Force. The many cultures of Jedhan people lived in harmony and tranquility, because even though they had many differences, they had even more things in common. And on this moon was an ancient city, and in this city was a marvellous palace. And in that palace lived a royal family, and the eldest child of that family was called Bodhi, and this story is about him. 

But not yet. 

_____ 

Luke Skywalker’s father had been a Jedi. 

It was the first thing anyone knew about him, before they even met him; his life had been a scandal before he and Leia were born. 

The boy in question lay on his back under a small shuttle, in the cool, dark shadow of the machinery. His blonde hair and handsome face were streaked with oil and space-dirt, and his strong arms and legs were coated with sweat from hard work. Only his bare feet were visible, sticking out from under the primary buffer panel, warmed by the midday sun. Naboo only had a handful of days in the middle of the year when the sky really blazed with heat, those days were Luke!: favourite, and here he was, up to his waist in the innards of the ship, missing it. 

But he had promised Cassian he would take a look at this machine, try to make the airlock stop juddering ominously on reentry, and well - a promise was a promise. 

A familiar pit-pat step, and C3PO’s gold left foot and silver right foot became visible near his head. 

“Master Luke?” came his voice. “Your mother would like to request your presence in the second reception office one hour from now.”

Luke blew a strand of hair out of his face. “Aw Threepio. Any chance you can put her off a little? I’m finally getting somewhere here.” He started diligently tightening bolts. “If I’m lucky, I could be finished before the sun goes down.” 

“I’m afraid the probability of that interaction being successful is very slim indeed, Master Luke. This is a matter of some importance. A representative from the Galactic Senate has just arrived on Naboo to present the findings of the Matchmaking Committee.”

There was a loud _____clang_____ as Luke smacked his head off the underside of the shuttle. He rolled out on his mechanic’s board and sat up, eyes wide. 

“Master Luke?” The droid asked, head tilted to the angle for ‘concerned’ as he watched Luke gingerly press a hand to his head. 

“Thanks. Thank you, CP3O.” Luke grimaced at the grease and dirt on his shirtless torso. “I’ll go and get ready. Please tell my mother I’ll be along on time.”

The droid nodded and tottered away. 

Luke rested his arms on his bent knees, breathing deeply and steadily. This was it.

He stood, pulling on his shirt, and hailed a nearby mechanic. “Could you piece this back together for me, please? I’ll be back to finish the work as soon as I can!” 

He pulled on one shoe and cast around for the other.

Unperturbed, the mechanic gave him a polite bow and replied, “Of course, your highness.”

Luke thanked them over his shoulder as he hurried away towards the palace. It was unseemly for someone of his station to run in public, but he half marched, half jogged up the long path, no time to marvel at the warm sun on his skin. He passed a long, orderly parade of tall trees, trimmed to an elegant point. Left at a huge sculpture depicting the Lianorm Swamp Signing Ceremony of the Gungan-Human Peace Treaty, left again at a huge, carefully maintained flowerbed by whose blooms could be told the time of day. How many times as children had he and his twin sister Leia sat together, cross-legged, watching closely for the moment one hour ended and the next began?

For a long time Leia had been shadowing their mother, Padmé, learning everything there was to know about how to lead as Head of State. It was highly unusual for the child of a leader to be their chosen protégé, but Leia Amidala had willingly shouldered a position of long, thankless work, though it was work for which she was well suited, beyond a shadow of a doubt. There was no better candidate for leadership among people their age. She had the charisma, decisiveness, the tactical mind and compassionate heart the people needed in a leader. But she’d have to disprove many murmurs of nepotism if she could ever be recognised as a Stateswoman in her own right.

And Padmé herself had dedicated herself from early childhood to the representation and protection of all the sentient people of Naboo, and they respected her well in return. She would soon retire from her democratically elected position and take up work as a Senator, or as a Mediator for conflicts among other nations. She had long held plans to form a committee that could prevent future wars before they started, to recognise intergalactic threats to democracy and rout them out. It was her great undertaking, her masterwork, and she had worked without fail to bring it to fruition.

That didn’t leave a lot for Luke to do, he thought grimly. The only real responsibility that had fallen to Luke, the only achievement of significance on his shoulders, was the one that had arrived to him now. He would have the opportunity to marry someone from one of the other great houses, a bond that could provide Naboo with a strong political alliance. Years ago his mother had taken him by both hands, sat with him and gently explained that the counterweight to their life of privilege was to also take a great deal of responsibility. 

At nineteen, Luke was only barely of an appropriate age to be betrothed. In his childish heart he had hoped it wouldn’t come about for a long while. Everyone had always said he lacked deportment, maybe he could spend a few more years growing into his gangly arms and legs, getting the hang of when to bow and when to shake hands, how to stand and which expressions to make, when to make small talk and when to shut up. Marriage would mean moving away from home forever, would be the end of his life as he knew it, and he had always quietly dreaded it. But the thought of letting everyone down, of letting his mother and Leia down-

Luke finally arrived at the front door, the great stone arch above his head, and hurriedly wiped his feet before taking the grand staircase two steps at a time, echoes scattering on the marble. 

He slid to a standstill, shoes squeaking a little, in the main corridor of his sister’s quarters, and knocked urgently on her bedroom door. After a few long moments she swung it open, hair still in her sleeping braid, scowling. “What do you want, lazerbrain?” 

He swallowed, still panting from the run. “Leia, it’s happened!” Her eyes narrowed for a second, then widened like saucers. “The matchmakers are here! They must have found someone for me! I don’t know what to- to wear, I won’t know what to say-” 

“Okay, okay, it’s okay. It’s gonna be okay.” It was like a flipped switch, how she turned from being his annoying sister into a leader of men all of a sudden. “One thing at a time.” She turned back into her room. “Han, I’m gonna be gone, maybe all day. I assume you and Chewie can amuse yourselves?” 

Luke poked his head round his sister, looking over to where Han Solo had made himself comfortable by the window, legs propped on the sill, a platter of food in his lap, Leia’s recently vacated chair across from him, his eyebrows raised. He shrugged in a debonair sort of way. “Sure thing, princess.” 

“Hi Han!” Luke chirped, giving a little wave and getting a grin and a nod in return. 

“Come on, first of all we’ll find you something decent to wear. And after that we’ll just have to take one thing at a time.” Leia put a hand on his back and shoved him gently towards the stairs, gesturing with her other hand over her shoulder and shutting her door with a solid _____thunk_____. 

“Bye Han!” Luke yelled over his shoulder, as he was all but frogmarched away.

_____ 

Luke’s room was the highest in the whole palace, the tallest tower on the furthest side away from the bustle of the city. He had chosen a new room just before coming of age, where he could keep his clutter without the risk of embarrassing his mother by having a mess where visitors might see. He’d spent a long time with friends up here, watching entertainment holos or playing games. 

He had painted it himself, a cheerful bright blue. Sunlight streamed in from windows set in the ceiling, and illuminated his belongings: scale models of ships and shuttles, a holo of Luke and Leia when they were children, soaking wet, grinning up at the recorder. A puzzle, taken to pieces and not yet quite put back together, that had been a nameday present from his stepfather, Palo. Bits and pieces he’d picked up, interesting rocks and shells, and a carefully pressed leaf, selected as a souvenir from his very first diplomatic assignment, a good six or seven years past. Palo had helped him preserve it between two clear panes of plasteel. 

Luke emerged from a hasty shower to find a stack of neatly folded clothes, a comb found who knows where, his medicated face cream and a note from Leia which read ‘ _ _ _ _ _try not to get this stuff in your hair, you’ll make it look greasy_____ ’. She had even left him a steaming hot cup of tea, and a cookie on a plate. He picked up his mug, inhaled the delicate spices and took a cautious sip. Two spoons of honey. Perfect.

With Leia on the case, Luke felt a little calmer already. There were a great many members of staff in the palace, and the other two members of his family had stylists dedicated to their wardrobes, styling their hair, sometimes even applying elaborate makeup and facepaint. Luke was very uncomfortable with so many people in his space. He could just about stand Leia helping him choose what to wear.

He laid out his clothes over the bed and stood, scrubbing a large towel over his hair, examining what Leia had chosen. A formal blue jacket and slightly darker blue trousers, made for him to wear to a recent wedding on Otoh Gunga. He had travelled the galaxy a great deal to accompany his family on their important business, and today he would finally find out in which far-flung part of it he might be expected to make himself a new life. He’d get dressed, comb his hair, take a deep breath, and go to face his future.

_____ 

Padme Amidala had chosen the smallest of her formal reception rooms, planning it so that Luke would feel less intimidated in a smaller space. She paced slowly between the wide bay windows and her carved wooden desk, dress and cloak fluttering behind her, letting her eyes fall across the many volumes of her official diaries and Naboo’s histories that lined the walls. Intermittently she stopped to gaze out at the lush, familiar landscape of their home. 

Padme was wearing a midnight blue gown that drifted along the floor behind her. She had been careful to strike the right balance between respect for the occasion and for the representative of the council, and casual enough attire not to put Luke on edge any more than he would already be.

She had known for nearly half a year that the Matchmaking Committee was likely to soon present her son with their findings, but she knew him well. More time to prepare was only more time to panic, and he would have become incredibly anxious if he’d had the opportunity. She had prepared him as much as she could, over the years. He was as ready as he would ever be. He would never be overjoyed to be ‘married off’ to a foreign stranger. But in the long term, she hoped he would be able to see that this was the best possible situation for Luke, as well as for Naboo. 

If anyone in the galaxy knew the dangers of passionate love, it was Padme Naberrie. She had spent her childhood in junior politics, identified as gifted in the qualities that made a good politician. In fact, she had been taken on as an apprentice at the same early age the Jedi younglings were chosen-

Her fling with Anakin Skywalker, the secret marriage, had been a way to have something, anything, that was just for herself. With hindsight it was obvious to her in a way she hadn’t been able to see. At the time she had been so infatuated, she reasoned with herself that she deserved an indulgence. One selfish secret that wasn’t for the people of Naboo or for the good of the galaxy, but just for herself. 

It had been immature and she had paid for it very dearly. She had lived through a long period of shame and loneliness. But she had rediscovered her happiness. Not everyone was given a second chance at love, and meeting Palo again, her childhood friend, after all those years, and the way he insisted on loving her for who she was, had been the start of a new life for Padme. She loved her husband so much and she felt so lucky to have him.

Leia had in some ways taken a very similar approach to Padme’s youthful indiscretion, spurning out of hand every half acceptable young suitor who had ever showed an interest in her, and then taking up out of nowhere with Solo. There had been a great deal of consternation from the courts that a lady from a Great House would have such a public and tempestuous affair with a smuggler and a criminal. But Leia’s very boldness in the face of that gossip had, over time, earned her a grudging respect. She had brashly set boundaries around what she would and wouldn’t be dictated on, and she kept them fiercely. And so even though Leia comported herself in a way fit for her station, and devoted most of her time to her duties, on matters of her private life she would accept guidance and remarks from noone, not even her mother, let alone outright instructions.

Padme had rarely met Han Solo, and thought him a little rakish and a great deal the vagabond. Since then he and his Wookie companion had kept to themselves, skulking around the city, coming and going to their own timetable. The gossip had it that Leia would throw him over before too long, though privately Padme thought that sort of talk would only make her daughter more likely to marry the man out of sheer spite. 

That vital stubbornness must have come from Anakin, she certainly hadn’t learned it from her mentors, Bail and Breha Organa, or from Palo, or inherited it from Padme.

Leia took after her mother, everyone said so. They had the same features, the same dark eyes and hair. But Luke was the very image of his father. For the first few years of his life, and only very occasionally, it would cause her a deep flash of pain just to look at him. And it was a few more years than that before she could even admit as much to herself. 

A polite knock finally sounded at the door, and when she called “Come in,” a handmaiden entered and announced “Leia and Luke Amidala, your Highness”. 

Of course, not one of her children, but both. She should have realised Luke would immediately recruit Leia. She had clearly had a hand in his clothing, and she’d probably coached him on how to react, too.

They put their hands behind their backs and inclined their heads to her neatly, though neither of them could quite bring themselves to smile. They both had impeccable manners. She felt a rush of love for her children, dutifully standing in front of her.

Padme approached Luke with a warm smile. She put a hand on his shoulder, and then suddenly realised she had nothing to say to him that she hadn’t already gone over with him a hundred times before.

“The council representative should be here any moment. Darling, the most important thing to remember is that the meeting today isn’t a test or an evaluation of any kind, not of you and not of us. It’s just an opportunity to hear what the Committee has to say.” She squeezed his shoulder gently. “Whatever happens, I’m already so proud of you.”

In the silence, she cast around for something more. “While it’s true that they may not always grow to love each other, people in arranged marriages can, very often, expect to be happy together. They will likely have a cordial relationship and they might become a friend, an affectionate companion. You can expect at a robust public partnership at the very least.” 

Luke nodded. “Thank you, mother.” He swallowed but he still didn’t smile. Neither did Leia. She gestured for them to sit down. 

_____ 

Luke wanted desperately to be as serene as his sister but he had so much difficulty keeping _____still_____. He wanted to scrub his hands through his hair, and only the fear of scruffying up his carefully composed appearance kept his hands in his lap. He already felt like it was getting more difficult to swallow, difficult to breathe with the full capacity of his lungs. He became aware of Leia’s presence in the Force beside him, a brush against his awareness like the equivalent of an outstretched hand. He gratefully took it, and felt the echo of her calm thoughts wash over him. 

_____You are ready._ _ _ _ _

And then she gently retreated into her own aura and was gone. Luke suddenly realised like a punch to the stomach how much he would miss spending nearly every day with his best friend. 

Leia would have been fantastic at negotiating a marriage pact.

The tension was just about to make him visibly jittery, and then a handmaiden finally announced a brisk stranger dressed in the uniform of her position, who curtseyed to Padme. She looked a little like an army captain, or perhaps a head medic - Luke didn’t know what he’d been expecting a representative of the Matchmaking Committee to wear. 

He jumped up from his chair to greet her, as Padme said: “Luke, I’d like to introduce you to officer Warud Volz of the Galactic Senate’s Matchmaking Committee.” Volz and Luke bowed politely to each other, she and Leia bowed politely to each other, and the four of them sat around the queen’s meeting-table. 

Padme smiled at her son warmly. She had been so careful to make this easier on him that Luke was a little ashamed to be treated like a child, especially compared to Leia. He resolved to put a better face on the situation. He sat up straight and told himself to stop fiddling with the cuffs of his sleeves.

Officer Volz gestured to the datapads as she arranged them on the table, her movements a little jittery from what light be...nervousness? Excitement? 

“The eldest child of the Jedhan Royal Family has announced his intention to marry. The Senate strongly feels that taking the opportunity to join your families would make a powerful impact illustrating Naboo’s standing, and the Republic’s standing, with regards to the Holy City and the Jedi Order.”

Luke felt a little dizzy suddenly. Of course. Officer Volz had started describing the political history of Jedha, the moon’s status as the revered site of an ancient Jedi temple and the original source of kyber crystals, but Luke couldn’t focus. Of course, he should have realised. This is happening now, in this way, because of his father. 

The Senate was rushing to match him with a family who could prove once and for all that Naboo and the Amidalas are aligned with the Republic, are in support of the Jedi Order. 

As a child, it had been decided that he and Leia were not to be considered for apprenticeship as younglings, though had both been found to be extremely sensitive to the Force. It would unsettle people, for he and Leia, the children of Anakin Skywalker, to enter the Jedi order. It would be very bad politics. 

He had been quite small the first time he realised what it meant to be the child of a murderer. The first time that the shame of being his father’s child had washed over him. Everyone knew that Skywalker had killed the younglings of his own temple, and he would have brought death to many more people. His mother had gradually explained to the twins, when she decided they were old enough to understand, that their birth father had done terrible things. She never spoke about him now. 

But Leia couldn’t be dissuaded from knowledge that easily. She had a head for research and a thirst for truth, no matter how painful, and she had uncovered details over the years about the events leading up to their birth, gleaning her knowledge from a mix of historical documents and carefully curated gossip, and shared it with Luke. He was sure that she had kept the worst from him. 

But he would never upset his mother by asking her. And to tell the truth, he didn’t want to know. He wanted to know less than he did. It made him nauseated just thinking about any of it. 

He tuned back into Volz’s speech.

“...because Jedha is the greatest single connection the wider galaxy has, to both the Jedi Order and the Church of the Force.” Luke nodded agreeably. “The eldest son of the Jedhan Royal Family is not in line to inherit the crown. His name is Bodhi, he’s a human of twenty-three standard years, and by all accounts he has a very sweet temperament, good natured, quite a favourite among the people. He has given little preference with regards to the gender of his match.”

That sounded like a good sign. He glanced at Leia, who was deep in thought, gazing at statistics from the presentation.

Luke nodded to Volz again in a way that he hoped looked thoughtful enough.

She had apparently come to the end of her proposal and was now frowning at the different pads, tapping at each in turn. “I have a holograph file here somewhere, so I can show you the image of Prince Bodhi in a moment”.

“No, no!” Luke said suddenly, earning him a raised eyebrow from the Officer and the attention of his mother and sister. 

“I mean, please don’t trouble yourself. What Prince Jedha ___looks___ like is, after all, of very little concern to me. The only thing that matters is that this match is what’s right for Naboo. That is, what’s best for our people.”

He tried to glance sneakily at his mother, and for a moment he thought he caught her looking a little sad. Had he said something wrong already? 

Volz lowered their raised eyebrow and smiled. “Of course!” 

She lapsed into details about timescales, the initial meeting, the period in which a marriage contract would be drawn up, how long it was likely to be between the official betrothal and the wedding ceremony. As though Luke’s mother hadn’t explained to him with extreme care and thoroughness over the years exactly what he should expect. 

Her devotion to their people was one of the many things that made her a wonderful leader, and Luke loved her for it. But it had caused her to be absent for long stretches of his and Leia’s childhood. Not everyone had to share their parent with a whole planet. But as always, the only thing he could do was make the best of it. 

He looked at the information spread over the table. Jedha. His mother had been there, and Leia too. But he had never seen the Holy City. There were worse places, far worse places to live out your duties. A great metropolis full of sentients from every corner of the galaxy, ancient architecture alongside the most modern starships people had gotten around to inventing. Wall to wall culture, the whole range of human experience, hundreds of religions and cultures living side by side. It was exciting. It would be like an adventure. Or he was lying to himself ad it'd be a nightmare. But there was only one way to find out.

**Author's Note:**

> Pleeease please let me know what you think. Unless you don’t like it, in which case write that down on paper somewhere I can’t see it and then throw it away. Like all fanfic writers I’m only putting in all these hours of worldbuilding and research in exchange for the attention of internet strangers. Please be one of those internet strangers and tell me what your thoughts are. Even tell me what you want to see in the rest of the fic! I’m stunningly easy to manipulate. I’d be pathetically grateful for the encouragement. Thank youuuuu and Happy New Year if you celebrate that around about now xxx


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